Lesson Overview
This B1 Ultra lesson teaches Present Perfect and Past Simple through a real BBC report about the world’s biggest four-day workweek trial.
This B1-level Ultra lesson teaches Present Perfect vs Past Simple through a real workplace case. Students begin by comparing different working styles, then build useful business vocabulary connected to productivity, burnout, revenue, and implementation. They watch a short BBC report about the UK’s large four-day workweek trial for gist and key facts, then use the language of finished events and present results to interpret what happened.
The grammar stage goes beyond a normal tense worksheet. Students sort examples into finished trial events and results up to now, then complete a short grammar box that highlights both meaning and form. They continue with a management update, plan their own workplace trial idea, and finish with a speaking carousel in which they pitch a proposed company change to different “bosses”.
This makes the lesson especially suitable for adult learners who want grammar to feel useful, current, and connected to realistic workplace decision-making rather than abstract timeline drills.
Objectives
- Build and use key workplace vocabulary related to productivity, burnout, revenue, and implementation.
- Understand the gist and key facts of a short BBC report about the four-day workweek trial.
- Distinguish between Past Simple for finished trial events and Present Perfect for results connected to now.
- Plan and pitch a workplace change using evidence, business vocabulary, and the target grammar.
Lesson Sections
- A New Way of Working: Students compare working styles and discuss whether a four-day week looks productive and realistic.
- The BBC Report: Students watch the report for gist and key data, then notice the language used to describe the trial and its results.
- The Change Pitch Carousel: Students prepare and pitch a workplace change as if it has already been trialed, using Past Simple and Present Perfect to report outcomes.
